Between “Suicide Squad” and “Fifty Shades Darker” American society is being inundated with images and ideas related to BDSM and sadomasochism; however the media’s fascination with these subjects is nothing new. Many infamous individuals in film have been sadists or in some other way related to the BDSM community. These examples date as far back as Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and are as recognizable as Hannibal Lecter from “The Silence of the Lambs” additionally many James Bond villains, super villains of comic books, and bad guys across Hollywood have been involved in sadomasochism.

Naturally this has given the entire community a very negative connotation and the general belief that its members are psychopaths, murderers, or in other ways evil when this could not be farther from the truth. People think of BDSM and they imagine the dentist from “Little Shop of Horrors” or, naturally, The Joker, from his many appearances in films, TV, and comic books, and the assumption is that sadomasochists are highly disturbed individuals who either witnessed some tragedy, or have been disturbed from birth.

Similar assumptions were made about the homosexual community in the past where it was believed that an individual was only homosexual if they had been raped or sexually abused as a child, nowadays people assume that only people who were abused or tortured become involved in BDSM. Again, this could not be farther from the truth.

The motto and mantra of the BDSM community is “Safe, Sane, and Consensual” and these are the greatest focuses of the BDSM community. There are entire professions exclusively for observing these sessions and ensuring that no one is in any legitimate danger. Such individuals, dungeon masters as they are called, exist entirely to ensure that the participants are safe, that everything that is happening has been agreed upon beforehand, and that if anyone, at anytime, for any reason begins to feel uncomfortable, that they are able to end the session and leave safely which also addresses the myth that all members of the community are rapists.

Most sadomasochists are normal people like you and me. They are doctors, lawyers, construction workers, musicians, police officers, cooks, artists, and yes, some are dentists but not in disproportionate numbers and their career choice was not driven by their fetishes. In fact the most disproportionate group who frequent these dungeons are Hasidic Jews, as Hasidic Judaism is a highly sexually restrictive belief system many pursue BDSM as a rebellion or release from the extreme restrictions placed on their sex lives by their religion.

In summation, sadomasochists are neither the Joker nor are the Christian Grey, they are normal people just like anyone else. Not villains, not rapists, and not to be feared.